Driving light



Jan. 12, 1943. G. F. BAHR 2,307,739

DRIVING LIGHT Filed June 13, 1940" INVENTOR Gaslaw 1- 56 177 Patented Jan. 12, 1943 DRIVING LIGHT Gustave F. Bahr, Bridgeport, Conn, assignor to Casco Products Corporation, Bridgeport, Own, a corporation of Connecticut Application June 13, 1940, Serial No. 340,274

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to driving lights, especially for automotive vehicles.

More particularly, the invention relates to improved means for mountin an illuminating unit of the sealed beam type in a driving light casing,

and for providing a ground connection therefor.

Heretofore, the conventional form of driving lights for automotive vehicles included a casin a socket, an electric lamp carried thereby, a reflector, and a lens held in assembled relation with the casing by a demountable rim. Generally, a flexible conductor connected to a contact in the socket was provided for the purpose of supplying the lamp from a source of electric current, while the sleeve of the socket supported generally by the casing provided a ground connection for the lamp.

Recently, however, a more eflicient driving light has come into use, wherein the lens, reflector, and illuminating means are constructed as a permanently assembled sealed unit, generally referred to as a unit of the sealed beam type. The lens and reflector ar joined by a reenforcnal of the plug for a ground connection is also undesirable, since undue stress may be applied thereby possibly damaging the seal or causing the connection to become unreliable as a result of the vibration to which the unit is subjected. The flexible conductor or wire normally provided in constructions of the conventional type may be readily secured without any material disadvanta'ge to one terminal of a sealed beam unit, but the provision of an additional flexible conductor to provide a ground connection to the other terminal of the said unit is relatively inconvenient.v

ing sealing rim, and an illuminatin member, for

instance a filament, is carried by a plug sealed into the reflector. The plug is provided with external terminals for connecting said filament to a source of current and a ground.

Rigid positioning of the reflector and the illuminating means in a driving light is necessary 'to maintain proper focus and direction of the beam and to prevent maladjustments thereof due to vibration of the vehicle. In the conventional form of driving light, the reflector and lamp are relatively light, and are, therefore, readily supported by the casing and the socket against displacement. However, in the case of sealed beam units, the illuminating assembly is relatively heavy, and rigid support thereof by a, casing is relatively more difficult.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means for supporting an illuminating unit of the sealed beam type for a driving light in engagement with a casing, said supporting means being of simple and inexpensive construction, relatively convenient to assemble, and adapted to maintain the illuminating unit rigidly in the desired position under driving conditions.

Furthermore, the use of a socket in conjunction with a sealed beam unit is undesirable, since engagement of the plug of said unit with the socket during assembly of the unit with the easing is likely to damage the seal between said plug and reflector. Similarly, the provision of a fixed contact in the casing to engage one termiand two connecting operations would be necessary to join the ends of the wire respectively to a ground terminal on the casing and to a corresponding terminal on the plug of the illuminating unit. These additional and relatively inconvenient assembly operations are of material disadvantage especially for the purposes of mass production.

Thus, another object of the present invention is the provision of a ground connection carried by a part of the supporting means for said il-- luminating unit and integral therewith, which may be conveniently connected to the ground terminal of the illuminating unit before its assembly with the casing. I v

A further object is the provision of a supporting means for a sealed beam umt including an integral ground connection therefor, which may be assembled with a unit before the latter is mounted in a casing.

The objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a demountable rim adapted to engage the sealing rim of an illuminating 'unit of the sealed beam type upon the lens side, said demountable rim being locked into engagement with a suitable casing; and an annular support fastened to said demountable rim, engaging the sealing rim of the sealed beam unit on the reflector side, and havin a portion thereof extending over the rear surface of the reflector adjacent the rim to support the reflector in a resilient manner. The said annular support also comprises an extension, integral therewith, fastened to the ground terminal of the plug of the illuminating unit to provide a ground connection therefor.

It is a feature of the present invention that the annular support and ground connection may be formed of one piece of sheet metal by relatively simple stamping operations. A further feature is the provision of cutaway portions along the inner edge of that portion of the annular support which. engages the rear surface of the reflector whereby the support is rendered suitably resilient. The sealed beam unit is held against rotation with reference to the supporting rim and annular support by means of a protruding lug which engages a corresponding aperture in the supporting means.

Other features and advantages will appear hereinafter" from the description with reference to the accompanying drawing which illustrates one embodiment of the present invention.

In the said drawing,

Figure 1 is a central vertical cross-section of a driving light casing and of supporting means of the present invention showing in side elevation an illuminating unit of the sealed beam type as.- sembled therewith.

Fig. 2 is a rear view in elevation of a sealed beam lighting unit assembled with the supporting means of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-section of the supporting rim along the line 3-3' in Fig. 2,

showing its assembly with an illuminating unit of the said type.

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 3,- showing a fragmentary cross-section of the supporting-means along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of an annular support according to the present invention including a ground connection for a sealed beam illuminating unit.

Referring to the drawing, the driving light shown in Fig. 1 comprises a substantial hemispherical casing l3 rigidly secured to a supporting member I! by means ofset screws Hand 12. Aconcavesurface l3 of said supporting member forms a ball-and-socket joint with a correspondingly convex surface it of a bracket IS. A bolt l6 engages athreaded hole I! in said supporting member andextends through a widened aperture H3 in the convex portion 14 of the bracket I 5, its head 19 engaging a washer member 20 ntting into and engaging the undersurface of the convex portion !4 of a bracket I5. A locking Washer 21 may also be provided to retain the bolt I6. against loosening after it is secured. It will be. seen that the position of the casing Hi, with reference to the bracket [5, may be adjusted by loosening the bolt 15, adjusting the casing in the desired position and then tightening said bolt.

A sealed beam unit22 is provided comprising a lens 23, a reflector 24, a sealing rim 25 perma nently joining said lens and reflector, and a plug 26 of suitable insulating material sealed into an aperture at the rear of said reflector. The plug 26 carries an illuminating element such as a filamentwithin the interior of said unit, and on its exterior surface, a pair of terminals 21 and 28 providing means for connecting said element to a source of current and to a ground connection respectively.

As shown in Fig. 1, a flexible conductor 29 passing through an insulating bushing 30 in an aperture in the casing H3 joins terminal 21 to a source of current.

A demountable rim 3| engages the sealing rim 25 on the lens side of the sealed beam unit, while the outer edge of said demountable rim fits telescopically over the cylindrical edge 32 of the casing [0 engaging a shoulder 32a thereon. The demountable rim 3| is locked in engagement with the casing by means of a recess 33 on its inner surface which engages aclip 34 on said cylindrical portion of the casing l3; and diametrically opposite thereto by a bolt 35 extending through a hole 36 in the rim 3| engaging a threaded hole in a bracket 31, welded to the casing I0.

An annular support 38 is fastened to the demountable rim 3| by means of stud bolts 39 extending through spaced holes 40 adjacent the periphery of said annular support and engaging tapped bosses similarly disposed on the inner surface of the demountable rim 3|. The annular support 38, which may be conveniently formed from a piece of sheet metal, is 'reenforced by an annular channel 4| spaced inwardly from its periphery. The inner portion 42 of the annular support 33 adjacent said channel is formed to fit the rear surface of the reflector 24. The inner edge of the annular support 38 is recessed at spaced intervals by cutaway portions 43. By virtue of this arrangement, the reflector-engaging portion 42' of the support 38 is adapted to expand resiliently to adapt itself to the surface of said reflector.

From the edge of the reflector engaging portion 42, a strip having a forked end 45 extends inwardly, said strip being integral with the reflector-engaging portion of the annular support 38. The forked end 45' thereof is adapted to be attached to terminal 28- of the sealed beam unit 22 to form a ground connection.

An aperture 36 in the annular support 38 engages a projecting lug Ill on the sealing rim 25 of the sealed beam unit'to retain the latter against rotation relative'tosaid support. Portions 48and 49 are cut away at the outer edge of the annular support 38 to'facilitate engagement of the recess 33 on the demountable rim 3! with the clip 34. on the edge of the casing 50, and to permit insertion of bolt 35 to engage bracket 3?.

In assembling the driving light, the annular support 38 is placed against the reflector of the sealed beam unit 22, the forked end 45' of strip 44 engaging terminal 28 on theplug-ZG, and'lug 41 engaging aperture 95. The demountab le rim 3| is brought against the front sideof the sealing rim '25 of said unit, adjacent the lens, and secured to the annular support 38' by means of stud bolts 3%. Terminal 28' is tightened to retain strip 44 in engagement'therewith. Flexible conductor 29 is then secured'to the terminal 21 and the unit is fastened to the casing ill by engaging the recess 33 on the inner surface of the' rim 3| with the clip 3 on the edge of the casing IE pushing the said rim over thecylindrical portion 32 of the casing until it engages shoulder 32a, and inserting 'bolt' 35 which is then tightened in place.

Theilluminating unit 22 is securelyheld against rotation with respect to the supporting means by the lug ll engaging aperture 46 in the annular support 38. Thusthere is no stress tending to loosen the ground connection formed by the strip M from the terminal 28, nor any stress applied to the plug 26 by means of said: ground connection tending to damage the seal between said plug and the reflector 24 of the illuminating unit as a result of vibration during driving.

Adjustment of the direction of the beam from the driving light may be effected by loosening the ball-and-socket joint formed by the bracket l5 and the support member I I attached to the casing l3, positioning the light as desired, and tightening the bolt [6.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In a driving light comprising a metal casing having an opening therein; an illuminating in one face thereof a reinforcing annular channel inwardly spaced from its periphery, said channel forming an annular rim-engaging surface on the opposite face of said support, the rim edge of said unit being clamped between said rim-engaging surface of the annular support and the demountable rim; a plurality of relatively wide resilient concavo-convex segments integrally carried by said annular support and forming a yieldable support partly embracing the convex rear surface of said reflector and yieldably urging said unit against said rim; and means formed integral with one of said segments and connected to a terminal of said unit for grounding the same through said casing.

2. A lamp of the type described comprising a metal casing having an opening formed therein; a metal bracket for mounting the casing to a motor vehicle; an electric light unit having a lightdirecting lens and a parabolic reflector hermetically sealed to said lens and having an outwardly projecting flange at the junction of said lens and reflector, said unit including current-supply terminals projecting through the reflector; a pair of concentric rings; a plurality. of resilient reflectorengaging members integrally formed with one of said rings; means for clamping the rings on opposite faces of said flange with the resilient reflector-engaging members resiliently engaging the convex rear surface of said reflector; means for securing the other of said rings to the casing to mount the unit within the same with the lens closing the opening in the casing, said members resiliently holding said unit against the other of said rings and cushioning movement of the unit relative to the casing; a current-supply wire led through an aperture in the rear of said casing and attached to one of said terminals; and means carried by one of said reflector-engaging members forming a connection between another of said terminals and said member for grounding the unit to the vehicle through the casing and the bracket for mounting the same.

3. In a driving light, a metal casing having an opening therein; an illuminated unit of the sealed beam type comprising a lens and a reflector hermetically sealed to said lens; a demountable rim removably secured about the opening in said casing; an annular sheet metal support having an annular reinforcing head, said support being secured to the inner surface of said demountalble rim with the rim edge of said unit clamped between said bead and the inner surface of the demountable rim, said annular support extending partly over the rear surface of said reflector and having spaced cutaway portions around the inner edge thereof forming spaced concavo-convex resilient segments adapted to resiliently engage the convex rear surface of said reflector and urge said unit against said demountable rim; and a finger formed integral with one of said segments and having the free end thereof attached to a terminal of the illuminating unit for grounding said unit to a vehicle through said casing.

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